Note: With the revisions done, I hope people enjoyed the changes I made, and I appreciate the people who decided to PM reviews because they couldn't do it in the story proper. And thanks for the words of support; it's good to see that I'm not the only one who feels that way about the recent chapters. My greatest hope for the series right now, is that next chapter, Aquarius will be do something, anything to help Lucy, even if it's just her taking Lucy to the Celestial Spirit World to help.
Fire Blackens the White
What was once an extravagant celebration in the Temple of the Moon, was now a chaotic stream of panic and cries.
"The Moonlit Beauty Goddess were beaten!"
"We shouldn't have provoked the demon!"
"We have to get out of here!"
During all this, Selene just watched the image numbly. This was impossible; there was no way a being from Earthland could defeat her lieutenants. And yet, there it was, right before her.
"No more inhibitions, no more hesitation," Irene murmured in awe, as she looked upon the Etherious, "Just a swirling inferno of rage and pain." She then looked at a gobsmacked Selene, and just as she promised, she laughed, and she laughed hard. Irene laughed so hard it attracted the attention of the rest of the room, who just stared at the enchantress, who was now mimicking the chortles they themselves were once giving.
"Well then, Moon Dragon? Was that not entertaining?" Irene sneered, "It certainly was for me."
"I… I…," Selene stuttered, for once at an absolute loss for words.
"You could always turn them all back, that might…" Irene said, checking her nails, before a look of mock realization came over her face, "Oh that's right! You made it so they can't be turned back." Irene then floated up and away, shrugging slightly.
"Well then, I recommend you get ready Moon Dragon," she said, "END will likely be coming here next, and I imagine there was a reason Acnologia feared this creature above all else." With that, she disappeared, leaving Selene alone with her now panicking court.
(I)
Finished with Mimi, END cracked his neck, before his eyes wandered over to Natsu's transformed friends. The yokai just cowered before the immensely more powerful being's gaze, as he took a step forward. They all scattered out of the demon's way, but he at first, didn't seem interested, as he walked right past them; however, as he passed the nure-onna, END stopped, as his gaze shifted down to her. The nure-onna whimpered in fear as she held up her arms in a vain attempt of defense.
"You… you still remember me, right?" she asked, through her tears, "It's me, Lucy." The demon hissed, letting out a puff of fire at the mention of the name, as the nure-onna squeaked, as she lowered herself closer to the ground. Fortunately for her, the Etherious just exhaled a cloud of black smoke, and continued on, as the snake-woman let out a sigh of relief (privately glad snakes couldn't wet themselves).
END came up to Youko, looking down at her, and while it was hard to recognize what he was thinking (since his face was now pretty much just a skull), anyone could guess how he was feeling. The woman just groaned, as he picked her up by the neck, and held her up. Youko winced in pain at END's burning touch.
"No… please…," she begged, as she looked into the demon's blazing eyes through her tears. She knew the demon wouldn't give her any mercy, but she asked anyway. Sure enough, END just growled, as he held back his hand, as it ignited. It then opened its mouth and said one word:
"Burn." Youko just cried out weakly as the demon prepared to finish the job, until…
"Natsu!" The demon paused, as he looked over in the direction of the familiar voice, as he saw Gray standing before him, with the battalion of Whiteout behind him.
"Gray?" the nure-onna asked, but Gray didn't have the time to concern himself with them. The Ice Mage recoiled back in horror at END's Etherious form. He'd seen END unleashed, but never too this level. It seemed Natsu had completely lost control.
"And you claimed that he wasn't a monster?" the Great Priestess said, stepping forward, narrowing her eyes, while the rest of her servants swiftly hurried to secure the yokai. The nure-onna tried to slither away, but was too slow, and got caught by her tail, as she was bound with the rest of her kin.
"What the hell happened to you?" Gray asked Natsu, as he tentatively took a step forward. END remained silent, as he continued to stare down those before him, not letting go of Youko.
"Hey Flame Brain," Gray said softly, hoping that quip would get through to him, as he slowly approached, "Don't go hurting her just yet. She's the one who did this." END growled at that, as his gaze shifted back to Youko.
"Natsu!" Gray shouted, as he came closer, "We need her to turn the others back to normal!" However, END didn't pay attention, as he brought black his fire enhanced talon. However, before he could do the deed, his claws was suddenly frozen in ice.
"I told you, we need her alive!" Gray said, holding up his hands. END's gaze snapped over to Gray, as he dropped Youko, and flicked his wrist, easily shattering the ice. He'd have to deal with these interlopers before he could complete his vengeance. Gray put his hands together, preparing for a fight, as he immediately entered his Demon Slayer mode.
"If I've gotta…". Gray couldn't finish, as END sprung at him, bearing his claws and teeth. Gray quickly formed a shield of ice, only for END to break through it like it was a sheet of common glass. Gray only had just enough time to lean out of the way, as END's claws went for his throat.
"Ice Make Hammer!" Gray said, as he manifested a hammer of ice. However, when he brought it down on the demon, it shattered against his body. END then opened his maw, and released a massive jet of fire at Gray, who tried to create another ice shield, only for it to instantly evaporate. Gray cried out as the fire created a massive explosion, which sent him slamming into a wall. As he sat up, he noticed END looming over him, and Gray felt almost smothered by the demon's presence. He then leaned down, opened his mouth, and…
"Go," he rumbled.
"Natsu," Gray groaned, as he winced at the pain. The demon then turned to go back to Youko, before he sensed something. He then waved his hand out, creating a curtain of fire that sent several of the Whiteout priestesses careening away, preventing them from attacking him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Gray demanded of the priestesses. Several more of them charged at END with their naginata, only for the Etherious to exhale a cloud of fire, blasting them all away. However, that was quickly followed by a white flash zipping by, and suddenly, END noticed a slight cut on his skull. Gray looked over and saw the Great Priestess holding her own naginata, though her's was different from the others. It had a golden hilt, with a tuft of white hair below the blade, which itself had an engraving of a dragon on it.
"I warned you, that if comes down to choosing your friends, or Elentir, I wouldn't hesitate" the Priestess said, as she spun the naginata in her hands, "I'm doing what's necessary: putting down this monster before he burns down our entire world." With that, she pointed the weapon at the demon. The demon, now visibly annoyed, held out both of his arms, and with a single flick of his wrists, each claw produced a writing tendril of fire. The tendrils then manifested gaping, dragon-like mouths, which launched themselves at the Priestess. Said woman leapt out of the way, as she swung her weapon. This created an arc of white light, which END backhanded away, to the Priestess' shock.
"It deflected a blast from the Tsuki no Nayami like it was nothing," she muttered, before narrowing her eyes, "It wont' matter." She then sprung forwards swing her weapon down. The fire tendrils lashed out at her, but seemed to be cut apart by her weapon. END seemed briefly surprised by that, as he held up his arm, blocking the attack, before pushing her off. As she skidded to a halt, the Priestess smirked darkly.
"This weapon was forged with the express purpose of fighting Selene and her servants," she explained, "It can cancel any technique used, Spiritual Art, or Magic spell!" END didn't look the least bit phased by that, as he released his fire beam again. The Priestess negated the attack with Tsuki no Nayami again, before launching herself at the Etherious. As she got close, END held out his arm, as a long spike came out of his wrist, which he used to block the naginata.
"I won't give up!" the Priestess declared, as she glared down intensely at the demon, "I won't let you harm Elentir!" The demon just growled in response, as he pushed her off. With his other hand, he then shot a ball of fire at her, which the Priestess was able to avoid. She then swung her blade in a circle, creating a disc of white light that was blasted at END. Again, the demon easily absorbed the blow, before launching himself at her with a roar. But the Priestess only smirked somewhat.
"Seems your intelligence is being burnt away as well," she said, as she swung her weapon.
The pained scream of the demon made the whole cavern shake, as the spiked arm of END fell to the ground. The Etherious stumbled around, holding the stump where his arm once was; instead of blood, though, was a lava-like substance oozing out of the wound.
"Natsu!" Gray called, and to her surprise, so did the nure-onna. She touched her mouth, not sure why she was crying for that demon.
"You bitch!" Gray screamed at the Great Priestess, "How could you do that to Natsu?!"
"I'm slaying a monster," the Priestess retorted, "For the sake of Elentir…" However, she couldn't' finish, as there was a massive explosion of energy and heat with the scream, which sent everyone in the cave slamming into the walls. Most of them, including the yokai, were all knocked out, with Gray and the Priestess being the only apparent conscious ones, as they could only watch what was happening before them: END roared, as out of his stump appeared a completely new, clawed arm.
"He can regenerate?" The Priestess asked herself in horror, but the Etherious wasn't done yet; he roared again in pain, as his body twisted and contorted. That was when, out of his back, sprouted a long, lizard-like tail, and small spikes appeared on his shoulder blades, and red markings started to appear on his otherwise blackened skin. It was almost as if END was evolving with each passing moment.
"Fine then," the Priestess said, as she pulled herself to her feet, "I doubt you'll be able to regenerate your hea…" She couldn't finish, as END suddenly grabbed her throat, and slammed her into the ground, before igniting the hand that was holding her. With his fire enhanced strength, he then threw the Priestess across the cave, into the wall. She then collapsed to the ground completely defeated. The demon held up his head, and let out a roar of triumph. With Gray now one of the only remaining conscious people, he could only watch as his corrupted friend.
"Natsu," he said weakly, which END somehow heard, as he glanced at him. He growled, as he turned to face END, but before he could do anything, a new voice called out.
"Demon!" END paused, at the sound of Faris voice, who turned his attention to her, as she stood from the sidelines, looking pretty beat up herself. The demon just growled, as he held up his hand, which burst into flames.
"Your quarrel is not with us," the White Mage continued slowly, a fearful look on her face, between her pants, "Your quarrel is with the dragon at the top of this mountain." END was silent for a time, as he glared at Faris, before eventually lowering his hand, and he looked up. With that, he folded his arms over his chest, as he was shrouded in flames, which turned into a pillar that burst rocketed up through the cavern ceiling. As he watched, Gray just grimaced.
"Just how powerful is he now?" He asked.
(I)
Selene took a breath as she rose to her feet, taking one last sip of sake before tossing the cup over her shoulder, and stepping down towards her temple's courtyard; she knew just what was coming now. While not "calm", per se, she had made her peace with the situation, and bleakly obsessing over it wasn't going to help anything.
"Very well then," Selene mused, "I suppose I'm going to have to do this all myself."
"Lady Selene," one of her handmaidens said, as she ran over to her, grabbing the hem of her robe, "What do we do?"
"Should we fortify the mountain?" Another one asked.
"Should we gather our weapons?"
"Should we…" They were all suddenly silenced as Selene swatted them away. They were all then taken aback by her cold, dispassionate gaze at them.
"You stay out of my way," the dragon answered, glaring down at her servants, "I'm not going to have the time to avoid stepping on any of you." With that, as her maidens fled, Selene stared out over the courtyard. It wasn't long before the ground began to shake.
"Let's see what you are truly capable of, END," Selene muttered, just as the ground erupted with a massive geyser of flames, which said demon emerged out of, his gaze locked on Selene. The trees in the courtyard spontaneously burst into flames, and the springs boiled over into just steam.
"So what if Acnologia feared you?" Selene said as stepped forward, narrowing her eyes, "I've long since surpassed that monster." With that, she held up her arms, and was consumed in a brilliant white glow, that others may have had to shield their eyes from, but at which the Etherious didn't so much as flinch. When the glow faded, it revealed Selene in her true, draconic form, floating in the air over him.
"Just as I will surpass you," she growled, as she loomed over END. The demon was initially silent as he looked up at the dragon before him. Once again, he just said one word:
"Burn."
Note: "Tsuki no Nayami" means (roughly) "Moon Bane" in Japanese.
So END made short work of Whiteout, much as he did the Moonlit Beauty Goddesses. And now he's going for Selene. END's intelligence right now is up for interpretation, but I'm of the mind that, as Irene said, he's just a swirling torrent of negative emotions right now, with no more inhibitions, though he did seem to recognize Lucy, so there's a little bit of Natsu left in the demon.
While I'm sure the Great Priestess won't actually do anything like what she did here, I thought it suited the story better to do this. I do hope that in the manga she's a fighter, and not just someone who stands in the shadows, not offering any help.
I hope to get a lot of this story done by the time the next chapter arrives, but I don't want to rush it. Assuming we consider Chapter 65 to be the first chapter of the Moon Dragon God arc, we're on Chapter 10 of an arc I'm guessing is going to be (at least) 40 chapters long. I'm hoping the team doesn't remain stuck in these forms for most of the arc, if for no other reason than Natsu and Gray can't carry the whole thing on their own.
Be sure to leave a comment.
I strongly urge my fellow writers to explore the concept of Lucy as a yokai, and Natsu dealing with it. It's been two weeks since she was changed, and it seems I'm the only one doing anything with the premise.
